The startling development comes just a day after a senior police chief attacked the "callous and deeply offensive" use of the Human Rights Act by murderers and rapists who used legislation to protect themselves from UK law.

In his last week as head of West Yorkshire Police's Homicide and Major Enquiry Team, Detective Chief Superintendent Chris Gregg said the trend for criminals to complain about their human rights being breached was one of the most difficult things for today's officers to deal with.

Sutcliffe, who is partially blind following a number of attacks on him by fellow inmates, will be represented by female lawyer Saimo Chahal, who will argue the Home Office disregarded his human rights because they failed to fix a tariff for his sentence.

The 61-year-old, from Bradford, who has changed his name to Peter Coonan, was jailed in 1981 after murdering 13 women and attempting to kill seven more across Yorkshire and in Manchester.

He was sentenced to 20 life sentences and was told by the judge he would serve a minimum of 30 years.

But Ms Chahal, who specialises in civil liberties and social welfare as a partner at London-based Bindmans & Partners, believes this tariff was never formalised.

A statement from the firm today said: "This firm is instructed by Mr Coonan (previously known as Peter Sutcliffe) in respect of the setting of a minimum tariff following his conviction.

"Any prisoner is entitled to have a tariff set within a reasonable time of conviction which will set out the minimum term of imprisonment to be served.

"Following a reference to the Court by the Secretary of State for Justice in accordance with the terms of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the Court will consider the evidence and set a tariff in due course."

Sutcliffe began his sentence in prison but three years later was diagnosed with schizophrenia and was transferred to Broadmoor Hospital.

Ms Chahal will argue his case for freedom in stages, with her first aim to get Sutcliffe back into the prison system.

The lawyer has requested a reassessment of his psychiatric condition and is believed to be seeking to secure his release by 2011, according to reports.

Ms Chahal was named Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year in a 2006 poll for "repeatedly pushing the boundaries of the law on behalf of those with mental illness".

According to legal website the Black Lawyers Directory, Sutcliffe's case was referred to her by another solicitor because she "takes on difficult cases".

It said: "For Saimo this case raises the issue of how we treat mentally ill people who have committed heinous crimes and she is concerned that there is a huge amount of information in the public domain about this case that is simply untrue."

Det Chief Supt Gregg, who is about to leave the police service after 33 years, began his working life as a detective constable on the Yorkshire Ripper inquiry.

He said yesterday: "For hardened criminals to try to use this legislation as protection causes terrible offence to the families of victims who have suffered appalling and cruel deaths at the hands of those who are quick to talk about human rights but were so swift to take away the human rights of others."

In a TV documentary aired last year, Sutcliffe's brother Carl spoke out about the killer's sentence and claimed he had given up hope of being released.

"He seems quite depressed," he told programme makers. "He's resigned to his life being in there.

"I'm his brother but I think - I really don't think he should come out...it wouldn't be very fair on the victims' families to come out after doing all those horrible crimes."

Olive Smelt survived after Sutcliffe attacked her with a hammer as she returned to her Halifax home after a night out in 1975.

She declined to comment on the move but her husband Harry said: "He didn't give the victims many human rights did he? I'm too old to be appalled I just find it irritating."

He added: "He's where he belongs and that's it. I don't think he should be locked up in Broadmoor, it should be a normal prison."